Dancing With the Devil (15 page)

“Why? We both know he deserved it.”

The soft breeze caught Rhea’s hair and blew strands across her face. She brushed them away and cursed herself sideways for leaving it down. What had she been thinking?

She hadn’t—that was the problem. She’d let herself be tempted by that look in Deacon’s eye and the promise of his bone-melting touch.

Foolish girl.

“What do you want, Kit?” Deacon turned in a slow circle, following Kit as she moved around them.

“Not a thing. Just wanted to say hello. I see you have another new suit.” She didn’t seem to mind the fact her hair was being blown around like a tiny tornado. And much to Rhea’s chagrin, she had to admit the chaos only made Kit prettier.

“Which reminds me…” Rhea frowned at the scowl Deacon shot his sister. “While I appreciate your business, Kit, I hardly think he needed a second suit so soon.”

“I didn’t give him that one.”

“But I thought—”

Kit shook her head. “Not me.”

“Then who?” Rhea whirled on Deacon. “Oh my Lord, did you—?”

“No!”

“But you told me you didn’t have any money, and if you didn’t get the clothes from her and you didn’t get them from me…” She backed away from him slowly, her heart plunging to her toes.

“I didn’t steal it, Rhea.” He started to follow her, but she shook her head. “Kit gave me some money.”

“If that were true, she wouldn’t have had to buy you that other suit; you could have bought it yourself.”

“Excellent points, Rhea.” Kit continued to walk in a wide circle around them. “I’d be very interested in hearing his explanations.”

Deacon fired a look at his sister that was so fierce, so dark, it froze Rhea’s breath in her lungs. Her fear must have shown on her face, because Kit laughed and rolled her eyes.

“Don’t let his bluster and fearsome looks worry you,” she said. “He couldn’t hurt me if he tried. Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee he won’t hurt you.”

“Rhea—” Deacon’s hand wrapped around her arm, but she pulled away. The fact that he didn’t try to hold on spoke volumes. “Don’t listen to her. I told you why I came back. You have to believe that.”

“I think it’s time I went home,” Rhea said quietly, backing away.

Deacon didn’t try to stop her, didn’t reach for her or say one word asking her to stay. And while the reasonable side of her brain found that to be a huge relief, the other side of her brain—the side ruled by her heart—screamed in misery.

How she wished she could shut off that side of herself, the weak side, the side she couldn’t control when it came to Deacon.

Before she lost what was left of her nerve, Rhea lifted her skirt, turned toward town and started walking. It was probably a good thing Kit showed up when she did. Otherwise there’d be no telling what would have happened between Rhea and Deacon.

This way Rhea had time to think, to try and make sense of what her heart wanted and what her mind knew she couldn’t have.

So far as she knew, Deacon had been truthful with her since he’d come back. He’d even admitted he’d be leaving soon. So what if he hadn’t told her about Lucille? Could she blame him for that?

Being who he was, it only stood to reason he wouldn’t be keen to tell her about his family.

He’d been nothing but kind to her since he came back, and Lord knew he didn’t have to be, not after she dragged him into a pretend marriage. He could have just as easily turned tail and run, or worse, let everyone know the truth about their marriage.

But he hadn’t. He’d taken up the role of her husband and had even put up with the stares and whispers that plagued him wherever he went.

Why?

Of course, he’d also said he came back to make things right. How could he do that if he was going to leave again?

Rhea straightened her shoulders and breathed deeply. She could walk from here to China and her heart still wouldn’t have enough time to make sense of this.

Her heart might be confused, but her mind wasn’t. Deacon wasn’t staying—she knew that. She also knew she wouldn’t get another chance to redeem her family name if it was ever brought to light that she and Deacon were not legally married. There would be no recovery
from that. She’d be forced to give up the store, her last connection to her parents, and move far away.

As the idea took form in her head, her pace increased. The idea had actually been Deacon’s, not hers. He wanted to make things right, and he’d already offered to do it, so all Rhea needed was a real marriage certificate and an understanding judge.

And she knew just the one.

C
HAPTER
E
IGHT

E
rnest poked his head through the curtain separating the store from the backroom and cleared his throat. “The sheriff wants to see you.”

“Thank you, Ernest,” she said. “Will you be all right for a little while?”

He nodded. “Been pretty quiet this morning.”

“I shouldn’t be long.” With trembling fingers, she untied her apron and tossed it on the table. “Have you seen my husband this morning?”

Ernest frowned but didn’t answer.

“If you see him, would you please send him over to the sheriff’s office?”

Ernest nodded briefly, then hesitated.

“Is something wrong?” She didn’t have time for this right now. Colin had news and, good or bad, she needed to hear it.

Oh sweet heaven, what if it was bad?

Rhea swallowed hard. Perhaps she’d take a few minutes to sort out what ever was bothering Ernest.

“If you’ll beg my pardon, Miss Rhea, it ain’t right the way your husband carries on.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I know it ain’t my business,” he said, seeming to age
right before her eyes, “but he left here this morning with…that woman.”

That woman
.

“The one who bought him the suit?”

Ernest’s eyes widened. “You knew.”

“Of course.”

“Then you know—”

“It’s okay.” She patted his arm gently. “That woman is his sister.”

“His sister?” Ernest shook his head slowly. “I don’t think so. She’s so…and he’s so…”

“I know.” Rhea laughed lightly. “It’s hard to imagine, but it’s true.”

“Well I’ll be durned.” He slapped his hand over his mouth, a look of horror falling over his face. “I apologize, Miss Rhea. I shouldn’t—”

“It’s fine,” she said, still smiling. “I thought something similar at first.”

“His sister.” Ernest held the curtain open until Rhea stepped through. “Can’t say I’d let any sister of mine prance around in men’s…
sit-down-upons.
”

Rhea forced a chuckle. “It’s 1882, Ernest, and most women do not appreciate being told what they can and cannot do. How would you like it if a woman ordered you around?”

“That’s different.” He shrugged as if the discussion was over. Silly, silly boy.

“Why would it be any different?”

“The man is the head of the house hold,” he argued. “And the womenfolk need to abide by his rules.”

Rhea stopped at the door and turned to look at him. It was beliefs like those that made her appreciate Deacon all the more. He might have teased her about not wearing trousers, but if she decided that was what she was going to do, he wouldn’t try to stop her.

“If that’s the case, Ernest, then you must agree with Mr. Hale sending Polly away, even if it means you’ll never see her again and she’ll no doubt up and marry another man.”

His face went from flushed to a deep scarlet in less than two seconds. “You know I don’t think that’s right. Polly’s my girl, and I woulda made her my wife eventually.”

“But Mr. Hale’s the head of that house hold, and the womenfolk need to abide by his rules.”

“It ain’t the same. I just meant—”

She raised her hand. “I know what you meant, Ernest. And while I’m sure you don’t mean to insinuate we
womenfolk
are dimwitted, you do make it seem as though we are incapable of making our own decisions.”

He couldn’t seem to decide whether it was safer to agree with her or not.

“Women are a lot smarter than men usually give them credit for. We think, we plan, we dream, just like the menfolk.” She sighed, then smiled at the poor young man’s tortured expression. “Polly is a beautiful, smart girl, and any man would be lucky to have her as his wife.”

Outside, two men crossed the street, heading toward the store.

“If you let her father send her away, you’re inasmuch saying Polly shouldn’t have a say in what she does with her own life.”

“I ain’t sayin’ that!” He frowned. “But what can I do?”

“Talk to Mr. Hale. Tell him how you feel about his daughter.” The men were getting closer. “He’s a reasonable man, and if you take the time to discuss the situation with him, you’ll go a long way in proving your own worth to both him and Polly.”

Before he could answer, the door opened and the two men stepped inside.

“Good morning, gentlemen.”

“Miss Rhea.” Both pulled their hats off and bobbed nods in her direction.

“Ernest will help with anything you need.” With a final smile, she left the store and headed to see Colin at the sheriff’s office. A fine example she was to poor Ernest. Here she was preaching about women making their own decisions, yet her entire life had been ruled by her men. Her father made the rules she grew up with, Colin had been all set to sell the store out from under her until she married, and even Deacon held power over her most vulnerable side.

Where was Deacon? She hadn’t seen him since she left the lake yesterday, and he hadn’t been in the room when she woke up this morning.

Maybe it was too late. Maybe Kit took him back yesterday.

She’d barely closed Colin’s door behind her when he looked up and scowled. “Where’s Deacon?” he demanded.

“I don’t know.” Her voice trembled, but not nearly as much as her legs did. If Deacon was gone…

Colin dragged his chair out from behind his desk and pointed her toward it. This man before her was not the same man she’d lived with her whole life. He’d bathed, shaved and dressed in clean clothes. She couldn’t even detect a hint of whiskey on him.

Something wasn’t right.

“You look very nice,” she said. “Is something—”

“Sit.” His sharp word brought her situation crashing back. She would have dropped to the floor right then if it meant she could stop teetering on her shaky legs.

“What is it?” She almost crumpled into the chair.

Before he could answer, the door blew open and in came Deacon, walking a little crooked.

“Nice of you to join us,” Colin grumbled as he leaned back against the edge of his desk. Deacon kicked the door shut and stood behind Rhea, his hands resting on her shoulders. She felt she should shrug them off, but her muscles wouldn’t move. Instead, she tried to soak in the comfort his touch provided. If the look on Colin’s face was any indication, she was going to need all the comfort she could get.

“Would you care to explain why I got a wire from Judge Hicks this afternoon?” Colin asked, seeming to struggle to keep his voice even.

“How would I know?” she answered, struggling for her own calm.

“Because he was responding to a wire you sent him this morning!”

“Then why did he send it to you?”

“Rhea!” Colin roared.

Deacon leaned close to Rhea’s ear. “Who’s Hicks?”

“A friend of our family’s,” Rhea hastened to explain. “He’s the circuit judge here.”

The vein in Colin’s forehead throbbed disturbingly hard. “He’s no friend of ours.”

“What did the judge say?” Rhea asked.

Colin dragged a piece of paper across his desk and held it out for her to take. “He’ll be here the end of the week.”

Rhea skimmed the missive once quickly, then read it a second time. “Good. Thank you.”

Colin kicked the back of his boot against his desk. “Do you even know what you’re doing, Rhea?”

“Watch yourself,” Deacon warned, stepping out from behind Rhea.

Colin snorted softly and laughed, but there was no
humor in it. “You stupid, sorry son of a bitch. You don’t even know what she’s up to, do you?”

“What ever it is, I’m sure she had her reasons.”

Another snort. “In case you haven’t noticed, my sister’s reasons for doing things usually make everything worse.”

“Not this time.” A look of calm fell over Deacon’s face as he glanced Rhea’s way. “I know why she asked him to come, and she was right to do it.”

Rhea caught her jaw just before it fell open. She hadn’t told Deacon anything about what she’d done, and by the look on Colin’s face, he suspected as much.

But Deacon went on completely unruffled. “I’ve said right from the start that the easiest way to protect Rhea would be for the two of us to marry for real.”

“And she made it pretty clear that she wasn’t interested in that idea,” Colin snapped. “So unless something’s happened that makes it necessary for you two to be married for real…”

“Colin!”

“What else am I supposed to think, Rhea?” He pulled open the top drawer of his desk and took out a bottle. Empty. He clicked his tongue in disgust. “Not so many days ago, you were adamant that you didn’t want to marry him, and now, suddenly, we have a judge coming?”

Rhea swallowed hard. She was going to be in debt to Deacon for a long time over this.

“It’s for the best, Colin.”

“That remains to be seen, doesn’t it?” He scrubbed his palms over his face and sighed. “On top of this disaster, we have another problem.”

“What problem?” Deacon asked. He hadn’t moved from where he stood, but the frown on his face deepened.

“To start with, there seems to be a slightly more colorful version of Deacon’s ‘death’ floating around.” The
vein in Colin’s forehead continued to pulse as he glared at Deacon. “I assume we have you to thank for that.”

Deacon shot Rhea a quick grin and snorted softly. “I wouldn’t assume anything if I were you.”

“I’m glad you find this so amusing,” Colin growled at Deacon. Then he turned to Rhea. “But in case you’ve both forgotten, we have enough people talking about you as it is. It might be nice if we kept things quiet for a while.”

“Of course.” Rhea’s breath hitched. She should never have told the Dietrich girls anything, but once again, a fit of impulsiveness had taken control. “What else?”